A visual effects supervisor who worked on Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse has shared a detail about the film that many viewers may have missed.
The acclaimed animation, released in cinemas earlier this year, followed Spider-Man/Miles Morales (Shameik Moore), as he interacted with alternate Spider-people from other dimensions. The different dimensions in the film were all animated using different art styles (with some differences more subtle than others).
Spoilers follow for Across the Spider-Verse – you have been warned!
At the end of the film, Miles travels back to what he believes is his own dimension, only to discover at the last minute that he has been trapped in a bleak alternative universe, known as Earth 42, by mistake.
Writing on Twitter, visual effects supervisor Michael Lasker shared images of the film on X/Twitter, and provided details about the stylistic choices.
“Earth 42 is dark, with criminality rampant. It’s look has a noir aesthetic where colors recede into blocked up shadows and the inking style is heavy and gritty, obliterating light,” he explained.
“Before the big reveal, we added the Earth-42 style of inking and splatter to these shots so the world felt different, but not so much that it would be obvious to the viewer. One thing you’ll notice is that those heavier ink lines are added to Rio, but not Miles since it’s her universe, not his.”
Fans shared praise for the detail in the comments underneath.
“It’s crazy how much attention to detail is in this movie because my first watch, I was soo immersed I didn’t even realise what was going on,” one viewer wrote.
“Such an amazing little detail. And the movie is full of them. Idk how you could leave the theater without thinking this was a 10/10 Spider-Man film,” another commented.
“I had noticed the change in style but it was treated so naturally in the film that I just thought ‘ah, it must be to make the scene more dramatic’,” confessed a third.
“I love this part. It feels off but not super obvious and didn’t make the plot twist less impactful,” someone else remarked.
Across the Spider-Verse is available on demand now.
